Artest leads Pacers past Cavs as Davis is benched

With a 6-1 record, Indiana is enjoying its best start.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Ron Artest takes pride in shutting down the other team's top scorer. He never really got a chance against Cleveland.
Artest scored 22 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 95-75 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who benched leading scorer Ricky Davis early in the game Tuesday night.
Davis, who averages 23.4 points, did not return for the start of the second half. He was benched 6 minutes into the game and took a seat on the baseline next to the team's bench.
The game went much more smoothly for the Pacers, off to their best start in the team's NBA history at 6-1 overall and 5-0 at home. They've done it without Reggie Miller and Austin Croshere, both on the injured list.
"Seven-and-oh would be better, but we can't complain," said Brad Miller, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds. "We're playing well, especially on the defensive end and that's what's taking care of us."
Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Mercer each scored 15 points for the Pacers.
Good shooting
Artest, who has started all seven games at the two spot in Reggie Miller's absence, made 9-of-10 from the floor, went 2-for-2 from 3-point range and made both free-throw attempts.
Darius Miles led the Cavaliers with 19 points, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 17. Jumaine Jones grabbed 11 rebounds.
After coming out of the game, Davis put on his warm-up outfit, draped a towel over his back and even stretched out his 6-foot-7 frame, resting his head on a stack of towels.
He didn't join the Cavaliers in the huddle during time-outs, instead standing off to the side with his hands in his pockets and looking around the arena. Assistant coach Keith Smart gave a few disgusted glances toward Davis.
Smart came over during the final time-out of the first half and put his arm around Davis, and both smiled as they talked.
Davis failed to participate in the halftime shoot-around and did not return for the second half. He scored two points on 1-for-2 shooting.
Lucas benches Davis
Coach John Lucas declined to say why he benched Davis and what happened to him in the second half.
"I decided not to play him. I wanted to go another way," he said.
When pressed further, Lucas said: "I just decided to go another way."
Miles said he expected Davis back for today's game against Dallas, but his teammates also decided not to talk about Davis.
That wasn't the only distraction on the bench.
Lucas also screamed and waved a finger in the face of rookie point guard Smush Parker early in the second quarter. The point guard combination of Parker, Milt Palacio and Bimbo Coles was criticized last week by forward Tyrone Hill. Hill guaranteed the Cavaliers, off to a 2-6 start, would be in the playoffs if they had a true point guard.
Lucas said that was no longer an issue. Now he might have another one.
"We're going to struggle," Lucas said. "I've got to make sure I do my job and get my team under control."
Artest was guarding Davis until he was benched, and laughed when it was suggested he was the reason for his early departure.
"I don't know what it was," Artest said. "I expected him to play 40 tonight."
The Pacers used runs of 14-4 in the first quarter and 9-1 in the second to start the rout early. They outscored Cleveland 18-2 on fast-break points in the half, ending many scoring opportunities on dunks.